rise to rebellion
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I just finished Jeff Shaara’s newest book, Rise to Rebellion, today. Normally, a novel is outside the scope of this blog and community, but I thought talking about this would be a nice change of pace from my endless rips on Onegai Teacher.
Rise to Rebellion pretty much follows the same classic Shaara familiy formula of trying to be entertaining, but accurate, historical novel based around the men of which history happens. This book starts with the Stamp Act and ends with the signing of the Declaration of Independece. Knowing Shaara, it’s the first in a triology about the American revolution.
This novel starts by following Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, and John Adams as they deal with the events that lead up to the Boston Port Acts, which inspired the formation of the American militia. In the second half of the novel, the attention shifts to Ben Franklin and Washington for the Americans as the battle to declare independence and the battle for Boston rages.
From what I remember back in American history class, oh, twelve or so years ago, it seems to be fairly accurate. I’m sure a few liberties were taken, but none that seemed implausible. A bit of the mystery and suspense of the novel is ruined by knowing what happens. Yes, I know Knox got the cannons to Washington on time. Yes, I know that Arnold will betray the cause. Yes, I know they signed the Declaration on July 4th, 1776. However, the book does not read like a textbook– there’s plenty of emotion, comedy, and tense situations as well– as all good novels should have.
The book clearly aims for a more educated audience, above the Daniel Steele and Tom Clancy fanbase, and even at 550 pages, it’s a book that could be read quickly over a weekend (I almost did). Rise to Rebellion is an enjoyable read, and it is something that I can recommend to anyone who enjoys a little bit of history.
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Oh, yeah, the shoutbox is new. Please feel free to use it however you want– you can also request that I write about something. Stuff that I would like to write about, but haven’t had the time or inspiration to do it include finishing off the video game series and writing about that new anime about looking up skirts. Which one would you rather hear about?
